I'm so excited, my insurance is going to pay for me to go to the Hallowell Center!!! :D

I have been diagnosed by two different psychologists, but both just used the DSM-IV symptoms and after learning about the testing people go through and what you can learn from it, I decided that I would like to do that to learn more.

I fought with my insurance company last week, because the Hallowell Center doesn't accept insurance but they said that a lot of people get reimbursed through their insurance. I tried to go this route, but my insurance company said I could not go out of network.

Today I got a call from my primary care, who said that my insurance company gave her some names, but some were out of network since it's difficult to find psychologists who do the testing, and some of those just do children. I had discovered that one of the Drs at the Hallowell Center is on my insurance company's list, just not with the mental health sub-insurer I have. I asked my primary care to see if I could get them to cover this Dr. at the Hallowell Center since they okayed out of network, she didn't think they would but said she would ask (I think she was getting ****ed at me, but I didn't care, I saw a loophole and I wanted to try to fit through ;) ).

My insurance approved it!!! i'm so excited, it was so upsetting to know that I am so close to some of the best known ADHD places and not be able to go there, but now I do!!!! :D Now I just have to find out how long I need to wait for an appointment. :rolleyes:

That's awesome, chloe! :cool:

Lucky gal! That's so cool -- we'll want lots of details now and how they do assessment in the big leagues!;) I'm happy for you!


Scattered

I'm so excited, my insurance is going to pay for me to go to the Hallowell Center!!! :D

That's great !!!!! :)

Turns out the Dr. that was on my insurance list is no longer with the Hallowell Center. Too bad, because I could have had my bills reimbursed! :( I decided to go anyway. (Decided that if it was brakes for my car, or rent, I would shell out the money, why not shell out the money for the best in my mental health!)

I am soooooo happy I went! :D I have felt jipped in the diagnosis and treatment of my ADHD, and am really impressed so far. Today I had a 2 hour initial session (compared to 15 minutes before) in which I did rating scales for ADHD, depression, and anxiety. There was also a medical history to fill in.

I saw a social worker. He said he has ADHD as well. He then went through questions about my history and how I am feeling about things.

He had a couple of intersting questions. 1) If your brain was a tupperwar container and I could take off the lid and look at it, what would I see? 2) (I am fascinated by the Holocaust, morbid, I know. I just have always been interested in learning about it) He asked me how I reacted to 9/11. I felt horrible for saying this, but I was actually really interested in it. I was glued to the TV and part of me would have liked to have been there, not that it was fun, just to feel more a part of it and get the intensity of the feeling. He said this is common and it's a way of seeking stimulation. The intensity of emotions and experience and the utter disbelief is very stimulating. That catastrophe and chaos that people with ADHD are drawn to.

He said I am a clear case of ADHD combined type and that since I am young, my teachers should have caught it when I was in school. There is a free ADHD adult support group he wants me to go to. I have beaten myself up a lot for not trying as hard as I feel like I should, so he says I definitely need counseling to work through that.

He had an analogy I liked. He compared trying to work against ADHD is like pushing against a rubber band, it's not going to break, just stretch. He said that if you hold it differently, you can sling it and soar. He says the goal is to help people with ADHD learn to hold the rubber band in a way to help them soar.

Again, soooooooooo happy I decided to go, I think it will be a good experience and they will be able to give me referrals to good ADHD specialists! I have neuropsych on the 22.

Very cool! I'm happy for you! You know I've always been very interested in the Holocaust too -- from a very young age. I also remember being disappointed that I missed seeing the Challenger explode (it did it in the skies over where I lived). I felt guilty at such a morbid curiosity (because I felt terrible about what happened), but what you say about the stimulation part of it makes sense.

I'll be interested to hear how the neuro goes!

Scattered

That's excellent Chloe :-) What did you reply to the question about the tupperwear container??

I had a really hard time with the tupperware question! I ended up saying it was like a toy machine (you know the kind with the claw and it's a mix of all different kinds of toys and you use the claw to get them) and a wind storm machine (couldn't think of the word at the time ;-). I said it was like the toys were being blown all over the place.

That was such a hard question.

Scattered,
I'm glad I'm not the only one with the morbid curiosity! I do feel terrible about it, but it makes me feel a bit better knowing that there is an ADHD-related reason for it!

I am a tad morbid too :-)